Creative CB2530 Bluetooth Headphones

For

Against

With more and more people turning to portable audio players, headphones are becoming big business, so can Creative who, is famed for its sound cards and MP3 players, bridge the gap with a new range of headphones? We take a look at the company's Bluetooth offering the CB2530 Bluetooth Headphones.

A wireless world is certainly an appealing one and it's perhaps why
Creative has forged ahead with creating a headphone set that is based on Bluetooth technology. The unit comes in two parts, the transmitter and the receiver (or headphones) and the promise that you can be up to 10 meters (35 feet in old money) away from each other and still work. The transmitter is a small unit about just slightly larger than the AAA battery that supplies its power.

At one end is a universal 3.5mm jack plug that will connect to virtually any portable device that omits sound. Whether its Sony's new PSP, Apple's iPod or even one of Creative's own devices, you can connect it. The other end is the headphones and these are powered by two AAA batteries (also included in the box).

Aside from a power switch, the headphones have a 20-level volume control and a blue light to let you know what is going on. The Alice band design offers a comfortable fit and can be adjusted to fit most heads. Further customization is available via different coloured rings on the cans (don't get too excited there are currently only two colours available - black or blue).

Out and about wearing them on the train we did get the odd look, and for the shy amongst us you probably will feel a little too 'on show' when using them.

Turn the receiver (i.e., the headphones) on, and a few moments later the devices are paired - it’s as simple as that. Seconds later, music will travelling through the air without wires as if by magic with the benefit of no dangling cables to get caught up in your jacket or jumper.

Verdict

These headphones are very impressive, more so by the fact that the technology gives you that “how does it do that” moment every time you use it.

The sound quality the headphones produced was very good with Creative using something called Adaptive Frequency Hopping that reduces static interference from other wireless devices sharing the same ISM band. Whatever it does, it does it well. Sound quality, no doubt helped by the padded earmuffs was very good and our only complaint would be the size of them and their inability to fold down for packing into a bag like Creative's Noise Cancelling set.

Where Creative has succeeded here is the inclusion of a standard headphone jack that means you don't have to have specific products to benefit from the technology, something we are sure other manufacturers might have been tempted to do.

A touch on the big side, but then if you are not fussed about what people think and just want good sound without being tangled then this is one for you.

Stuart has been a tech journalist since 1998 and written for a number of publications around the world. Regularly turning up on television, radio and in newspapers, Stuart has played with virtually every gadget available.